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Bleached brows are subversive and here to stay. The I’m-not-there brows, in all of their invisible glory, are a transformative beauty move—one that has made its way from the runways to the faces of celebrities seeking a statement-making look.
“Bleached brows give a more futuristic effect to the face,” explains makeup artist Diane Kendal, who helped jump-start the trend on Marc Jacobs fall 2022 runway, erasing brows to offer neutral complexions and hollowed gazes a “gothic element.” The thing is, as alien as they can seem, bleached brows go from runway to real life more easily than you might think—a point proved by the likes of Julia Fox, Nicola Peltz-Beckham, Camille Razat, and even Kendall Jenner, who ditched her brows (for one night) at last year’s Met Gala. Then 2023 saw Kylie Jenner parting ways with her brows for an evening out in New York and a subsequent Jean Paul Gaultier campaign. In the latter, her platinum mane was complemented by blanched brows—an incredible look, albeit one that, Jenner notes, came at a cost.
With more than 125 million views on TikTok, the #BleachedBrows trend shows no signs of letting up. Here, makeup artists Isamaya Ffrench and William Scott walk Vogue through the beauty of bleached brows and how to take the peroxide plunge safely at home.
Why are bleached brows a thing?
Brows provide a framework to the face—and their absence speaks volumes. “You don’t realize the impact of brows on a face until you’ve gotten rid of them,” says Ffrench. “Eyebrows express a lot of emotions and therefore articulate a lot personality.” For the pro, who often blanches her own brows, it’s a provocative tool for shapeshifting (her specialty) regardless of where you land on the mellow yellow to arctic white spectrum. “Most of the time when I bleach someone’s brows for the first time, they don’t recognize themselves,” she continues. “It creates a blank canvas and I think most people like that little thrill of feeling like you can be a different person.”
What are the benefits of bleaching brows?
While bleached brows will make your entire face look different, it’s the appearance of your eyes that is most radically altered. “Our brows give structure to our face by defining the lines of the bones underneath them and often, bleached brows makes one’s eyes look rounder or bigger because we’re allowed to see the full space they take up without the perimeter of a brow,” explains Scott. “This look is a great way to see oneself in a new way because it can reveal aspects of our beauty that we can’t always perceive or emphasize with a full brow, like where one’s eye socket is deepest.”
How do bleached brows change the effect of makeup?
Again, the impact is all down to your gaze. “From a makeup perspective, erasing eyebrows, whether that’s done with concealers or full bleach process, is a great way to open up the area around the eyes, which allows for much more freedom in terms of makeup possibilities,” explains Ffrench. “There’s no ‘frame’ to take into consideration so you can do pretty much any shape in any size you want and create something dramatic.” From drawing on entirely new brows (like a Y2K-era razor-thin arch, for example) to extending the shape of a graphic eye design to extreme effect, the possibilities are endless.
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How do you safely bleach brows at home?
For the ultimate insurance while lightening brows, Ffrench recommends going to a professional or asking a friend who’s familiar with the process to do it for you the first time so that you can observe and ask questions. Remember: To avoid damage or irritation, a bleaching agent must always be used safely and carefully per the instructions on the container.
Before starting, both Ffrench and Scott recommend reaching for a skin protectant, like Vaseline or Aquaphor, to protect the area around the brows. “After mixing hair bleach powder with cream developer, take a mascara wand to coat hairs thoroughly from root to tip, using the leftover cream to cover the brows until you can’t see them anymore,” says Ffrench. “Cover with a little piece of film or aluminum so it doesn’t dry out. It’s normal if this feels warm and tingly, but if you feel like something isn’t right, wipe it off and rinse. Wait for about 10 minutes and check your browns every three minutes after that until the color is completely gone.” To wash out the formula, Scott suggests using shampoo and water to rinse the bleach and stop the chemical reaction.
“Allow your brows to dry completely to judge the color and decide if you want to go over them with bleach again,” says Scott, who recommends waiting at least 20 minutes between sessions. “Don’t do more than two passes of bleach to your brows in one day. If after two passes your brows didn’t lighten enough, the bleach can probably stand to sit on your brows for a bit longer. I usually aim to bring the brow color close to the skin tone as opposed to going fully platinum on everyone, because no nude is universal.” If the hairs have unwanted orange or yellow tones, both pros advise applying a blue or purple toner for a few minutes to remove brassiness.
When you want to dye your brows back to the original color, use a facial hair dye kit that is one shade lighter than your original brow. “Bleached brows will soak up color quickly and go dark easily,” says Scott. But you may well find that with a dramatic new look and more room to play with your makeup, brow-less is more.
